Nightmares and Daydreams (The Blood Falls Book 4)

I stepped among the dead and wounded. Blood was everywhere. Absolutely fucking everywhere. Gigi bent over collecting as many samples as she could. Kris worked beside her. Slowly, methodically, and with extreme exhaustion from keeping Rain safe during the attack.

I stopped beside her. She sat against the cool wall of the exposed hillside. She took blood donations from three before she refused anymore and said she simply needed to rest.

“You’re a hero.”

She glared at me. “It’s not heroic to do your damn job, Dray.”

Rain almost never swore so it took me by surprise. But then again, she was as angry as the rest of us. “Let me rephrase. Thank you for doing your job so well tonight, Rhiannon. I appreciate the effort it took.”

That earned me another glare for my slight sarcasm. But it also put a small smile on her lips. “How bad is it?”

I put on a strong front because that was what was needed in the face of death. My House needed me to be the pillar. I was the pillar. But inside it hurt like hell to think of the dead.

“Twelve gone. Everyone’s hurt. Even the ones you protected took damage in the initial attack.”

“Thank fuck for Rhysa’s warning. I got my bubble up fast, but not fast enough.”

“Just be glad it worked at all. Magic didn’t.”

“Sometimes it did.” She frowned. “What’s up with that?”

“Might have something to do with how the Grista phased in and out. When they’re in their reality, the Grista don’t really interact with ours. But when they became solid, real beings to us, they could. Rhysa said they seemed like wraiths to her.”

“I felt the shift as they arrived,” Rain whispered, her eyes unfocusing as her mind went into the past.

“The cold you mean?”

“No. I mean, the Plane. It…merged…with something. But not completely. Like pockets of fog. In one place the Plane was intact, but a few feet away it was blurred with something else.”

“And our magic doesn’t work there.”

She bobbled her head. “Not like it does here. I saw Navia working. She changed what she was doing. Instead of going for the big spells she went for small ones. It made a difference.”

I would definitely follow up on that. “Make notes. Anything you remember. Even if it seems silly or insignificant. Write it all down while it’s fresh.”

She smiled weakly and pulled out her phone. “I hope voice notes are acceptable. I won’t be writing anything with these hands any time soon.”

I put my hands around hers. They trembled inside my palms. “Voice notes are perfect. Now rest.”

The new, young Doctor was hard at work trying to save and heal everyone he could. I liked him. At first he seemed too young and inexperienced for the job, but now that the shock had worn off and he accepted his role, I saw how perfect he was for the job. The Doctor was incredibly intelligent, very methodical, and insightful.

“Many of the wounds are jagged,” he said as he helped heal my side faster than I could alone. “Like yours. Similar to being slashed by a wolf or bear.”

I grunted as my skin pinched. “And the others?”

He shot me a look and concentrated on what he was doing. “Your accelerated healing should have you good as new by morning. I’ve closed the wounds so they heal properly. I know you won’t, but I’ll say it anyway. Rest, blood, food.”

“Yeah, yeah. At least the ancient armor works, regardless of what state they were in. Any thoughts on that?”

He patted a female and murmured the same prescription to her that he had to me and moved on to the next. “From everything we’ve learned about the metal, DNA, and Plane, plus what Rhysa observed today, I would say our ancestors found a way to make a weapon out of both realities. Something that would work regardless of the state of the Planes.”

It was the only thing that made sense, but it was good to hear a smart Doctor say it out loud. “Hey Doc.”

He paused, glancing over his shoulder with an arched brow. “Yes?”

“Can I ask you a hypothetical question?”

He stood up and came closer, wiping blood from his hands. “Go ahead.”

“Say the Plane is good. Solid. What would it take to change that? Hypothetically?”

He thought for a long minute. “The Plane is the combination of the seen and unseen. It’s where matter is less a state of being than an ingredient in a recipe. Here,” he gestured to his side, “matter is the foundation of reality. On the Plane, time is the foundation. To change matter, you physically interact with it. To change time, you disrupt its flow.” His hands stretched to either side, indicating the timeline both backwards and forwards.

“And if something even momentarily disrupted that flow?”

He frowned. “The effects would seem small at first, but the further out from the event, the larger the effects would become. Like a wave building momentum.”

My heart beat faster and faster as my mind put together the puzzle of my life. “And the rules of the Plane? Would they be changed by the disruption?”

The Doctor shrugged ever so slightly as he frowned. “Theoretically it’s possible that part of whatever disturbed it could be introduced into our reality.”

“Like a virus?”

“That’s one way of looking at it. Or an invasive species. Those are extreme examples though. It could also be similar to a scent being added to a substance. Lotion is lotion. Adding a scent only slightly alters it but doesn’t substantially change what it is.”

My brain felt like it was on fire as all the possibilities churned through my mind. “Thanks Doc. Appreciate it.”

“Anytime. Get some sleep tonight. We need you and your mind strong.”

If what I was thinking was true, then it might be my last good night of sleep for a long, long time.

It was the saddest, most somber coronation I ever did see. After the dead were taken away and the wounded healed as best they could be, the hall was filled with the remains of the House of Axl, plus guests from the Houses that could afford to spare somebody.

Rhysa and Tymothy stood in front of everyone and recited the words making him the new Head of House. He looked tiny and fragile beside Rhysa, but also full of a confidence I hadn’t seen in anyone his age ever before. It was as if he were born for this day.

Lou stood beside him looking terrified, and Iwan stoic. I felt for the male. As General, he was the most powerful Dreg in the world. And now his son was his leader. The most powerful Axl in the world.

It was the first time I let myself look at Rhysa since I grabbed the Doctor and forced him to heal her first. She was pissed at me, but I didn’t care. Nothing mattered if she was hurt. Healing didn’t magically fix the damage. Full healing would take time. I was mad at myself for allowing her to get hurt. So when she pushed me away, I went.

But now, watching her pass on the sword and role she never wanted, all I wanted was to scoop her up and take her home. It was my job to keep her safe and I failed. It didn’t matter how illogical it was to think I could keep her from all harm in the middle of a damned battle. My brain and my body would only react one way. But punishing myself was not useful. It felt right. Maybe even relieving. I would probably continue to flog myself for my failing, but after this was over, I would put aside my ego and set things right.

I went to her side when the ceremony was over and the crowd started to break up. Normally there would be a party and lingering. Not tonight. Probably never. A few hung back to speak with the new Head of House and his parents, not that Tymothy was having much of their interference.

I saw a lot of myself in the kid.

He stared down the male questioning him. “War is inevitable. We will fight and we will win.”

The male shook his head. “Be that as it may, Sir Tymothy, but wishing to win a war is not the same as knowing how to win it.”

Tymothy didn’t bat an eye or flinch a muscle. “I may look young to you; however I assure you, I know more about war than you ever will. Was I coloring pages only a few months ago? Yes. But I was also studying battle strategy with my father and training with my mother. When I wasn’t being trotted out as a prize pony, I spent every other waking moment with a sword in my hands or a book. And every day since the Grista appeared I have been learning everything there is to know about the Plane, other realities, and history. What have you been doing in that time?”

The male didn’t answer.

So Tymothy stepped closer. “I have never had the luxury of a simple childhood. I’ve never gotten drunk at a party and made a fool of myself for three straight days.” That had to be a jab at the male for something he did rather recently. “You may have thought of me as a child playing with toys, but that is not who I am. I am the Head of the House of Axl, and you will obey me.”

The man bowed. “Yes, Sir Tymothy.” And then he backed away.

I clapped softly. “Very well done.”

His eyes cut to me with a smile. “I studied your early years as an example for how to handle the disbelievers.”

“Force them to see you as an authority figure.” I nodded.

“And never back down.”

Rhysa bristled a little. “We’re all under Doctor’s orders to go home and sleep.”

“I’m all for it,” Tymothy sighed.

“Good night,” Lou said, taking Tymothy’s hand and moving towards the exit.

I reached for Rhysa. Her hand was stiff in mine, but she didn’t pull it away, which I took as a win. “I’m sorry. Sometimes I’m an asshole even when I try not to be.”

“Yes. You are an asshole.”

“You’re important, Rhysa.” Then I added lower, “Especially to me.”

“It happened just like we saw it.”

“I know.” I didn’t want it to be true, but there was no shying away from the similarities between what we saw and what happened.

“The Plane is using us to show us what is about to happen.”

I nodded and pulled her closer. Needing to feel her but also wanting to keep my voice as low as possible. “The Plane isn’t just using us to show us things. It’s using us to fix itself.”

I asked the Doctor those thinly veiled hypotheticals because I knew he would have the answers. And those answers lead me to one conclusion. “When that door opened it changed everything. The future, me and Gigi, and everything else. I think the Plane is infected and that’s why these Grista are finally getting through. Why Ryddyck came here.”

“Infected?” she wrinkled her nose.

“It’s not a perfect analogy, but it’s close. We’ve taken the Plane for granted. It’s been there for us to use and manipulate, for us to follow all our lives. We see it as all powerful and constant. We see it as ours.”

Rhysa nodded along. “It interacts with the other reality differently. Same way our magic was affected tonight.”

“Exactly. The other reality affects it. Changes it in ways we never have.”

“You think the Plane doesn’t want the other reality here, either.”

“No, I do not.” And it was frustrating as hell that I only realized that now. “I wish I understood what it was trying to tell us when it sent that vision.” It might have saved lives.

“You couldn’t have stopped tonight if you had all the power in the world and the knowledge it would be today, here, and with a Grista army.”

Maybe she was right. But I liked to think if I had the power and knowledge, I could have protected everyone. It was just who I was. “Can I please take you home? You need to rest.”

She rolled her eyes. “Says the dragon with five gashes in his sides. You really never think of yourself, do you?”

“Oh I think of myself.” I wrapped one arm around her and prepared to shift us home. “I’m thinking of wrapping myself around your naked body and sleeping all night.”

I woke up before dawn feeling very well rested. Rhysa’s skin always lulled me into a deep sleep. The Plane took mercy on us and gave us a dreamless sleep. So I slipped out for coffee, leaving her to get whatever rest she needed.

Spring mornings were still cold, so I stoked the fire up into a full blaze before pulling on my coat, sticking my feet in a pair of boots, and stepping outside to get some fresh air.

The coffee kept my hands warm as I sipped. It was nice to reconnect with nature whenever I could. Those opportunities had become rare, and it wore on me. From here I could hear the river, but it was underneath the sounds of the insects getting ready for dawn. An eager bird took flight from a nearby nest. Something crawled through the underbrush below the house.

I used to sit out here alone, feeling lonely without even realizing it. I had gotten so used to isolating myself that it felt normal. I hid the dragon and made sure to stay close to my siblings, but not too close. They had to respect me as the eldest, as the Head of House. So I moved into the castle and acted like a king.

Until Rhysa stormed the castle gates, brought the drawbridge down, and flooded my life with love. Damn that woman. My life was so much better now than it was before I knew her. I let my siblings in. I stopped pretending my aunts were angels and let them become my friend. Sitting out here watching the dawn wasn’t a solitary experience now. Sure I was alone, but it was a moment of peace, a commune with Blood Falls and the nature that called it home, too.

Maybe it was the feeling that death was close that made me so damn sentimental, or maybe it was just getting one bloody good night of sleep.

“You’re up early.” Rhysa stepped out, completely naked.

“What the hell are you doing? You’ll catch your death of cold.”

She scampered across the wood planks before I could stand up, and straddled me, cupping my face with mischief in her eyes. “Then you better keep me warm.”

“Fuck, Rhysa. We have a perfectly warm bed inside.” She got the wildest ideas in her head sometimes.

“We’re going to be at least this cold when we get to the North.” She bit her lip, her eyes lighting up. “We’ll call this practice.”

She would be the death of me. I was sure of it. I leaned forward and slipped out of my coat, pulling it over her shoulders. “At least put this on.”

“It’s good like that.” Her cold hands pulled my dick out of my pants easily because I was already hard for her. When was I ever not?

“It’ll fall off. Just put your arms inside. Oh, fuck!” She sank down on me, all warm and wet.

“You were saying?”

I couldn’t think. About anything other than getting more of her heat on me. So I fisted her hair and sucked a kiss to her throat. She was fire and magic. A fantasy brought to life.

She rose up and sank down, taking my shoulders in her hands, her fucking gorgeous tits in my face as she moved. “Do you want me to stop?”

“Why the fuck would I want that?”

She batted her lashes. “You said it was too cold.”

“Fuck the cold.”

“Do you want me to fuck the cold or you?”

Why did she have to be so infuriating? “Rhysa.”

“You want me to fuck myself?”

Damnit! I hated when she baited me like this. “Rhysa.”

She began moving faster and the heat between us multiplied. “I’m just trying to keep up. I’m fucking you, the cold, and myself? Did I get that right?”

I stood up and balanced her ass on the railing. “No more talking.”

Her eyes glinted as she took my chin between her fingers. “Okay.”

“Okay? Just like that?”

She shrugged, wiggling on my dick. “I got what I wanted, didn’t I? Now fuck me, Dray.”

I growled but I wasn’t really frustrated. How could I be when I had the most beautiful, sexy female in the world waking me up in the best way possible?